The Ravine
by elbcw
Summary: 'He glanced around and saw Aramis rushing to Porthos, who had clearly been injured. D'Artagnan knew as much as he would like to help his fallen brother, Athos was still fighting, and in a dangerous position as he did so. Although Athos was a superior swordsman the two men had forced him ever closer to the edge of the ravine.' I think we all know what's going to happen...
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: I wrote this before I wrote 'Small Injuries' but could not get the ending right (it's still not very good!), there are some similarities between the two stories, but there are more differences I think.

All but d'Artagnan get whumped, and d'Artagnan gets a bit worried about a decision he made.

The Ravine

Chapter One

This had not been entirely unexpected, thought Porthos. The six men had been following them for some time. Despite being fairly sure they had shaken them off their trail the day before they had kept vigilant. It had been a good job. Had they not taken turns to keep watch during the night they would have been taken by surprise and probably beaten. As it was Aramis' yelled warning had only given them seconds to prepare.

Porthos brought his main gauche across to parry another attack from one of the two men who were eagerly trying to kill him. One man was slim and light on his feet, but his sword work was poor. The second, bigger man was good with his heavier sword and took advantage of his fellow bandit's speed to wield the bigger sword in harder wider arcs and thrusts. Porthos was, he had to admit, struggling to keep up with the two men. He had adopted a defensive method with the bigger man whilst he attacked the other. The smaller man, although quick would be easier to take out, once he had done away with him Porthos could concentrate on the bigger man.

Aramis was fighting with a man of equal build to himself, Porthos watched as his friend twisted the bandits parrying blade out of the enemy's hand with a flourish. Porthos knew Aramis would be by his side in no time. The ill trained man would not last much longer against his friend.

D'Artagnan had also been lucky enough to only be facing one man, the overweight thug was clearly in trouble. D'Artagnan had been glancing around as he fought and was clearly ready to help Athos once he had despatched the somewhat wobbly man.

Athos, unlike himself, was not struggling against the two men he was facing. But they had worked their way to the side of their encampment, which put them dangerously close to a ravine. A barely sloping drop which reached several yards down was only a few feet from Athos. It was obvious that Athos was aware how close he was to the danger as he was trying to turn the men he was fighting so that they were the ones on the dangerous side.

With a quick feint and a thrust of his main gauche Porthos took out the smaller man he was fighting. As the smaller man went down Porthos was pulled off balance, retrieving his main gauche from the man's side, leaving him exposed for a few seconds. The bigger man took advantage and smashed the hilt of his sword into Porthos' head.

As the pain exploded and he felt himself fall Porthos was also aware of a sharp sting across his arm. He hoped as the blackness took him that his brothers would be more successful than he had been.

MMMM

Aramis sliced across the man's throat with his main gauche ending the fight efficiently. Within a second he was crossing to Porthos who had just taken out one of the two men he was fighting. Aramis was still several yards away when his friend fell, the bigger fighter having smashed the hilt of his big sword hard into his friend's head. As Porthos crumpled to the floor the fighter straightened the sword quickly and sliced across Porthos' left bicep, cutting through the leather of his doublet with ease.

Aramis yelled at the man who had so viciously assaulted his friend. The man did not get a chance to turn Aramis pushed his sword into the man's back, not thinking it dishonerable for a second.

After a quick glance towards d'Artagnan who had killed his bandit and was rushing across to help Athos, Aramis turned his attention to Porthos.

His friend was lying awkwardly, one leg tucked under the other, his sword still held firmly in his hand, his arm outstretched. Aramis crouched down and straightened out Porthos' legs and eased the sword from his hand. Porthos did not move.

The sword hilt had left a few shallow cuts and grazes to his friend's temple and bruising was already evident. The cut to his arm was deep, Aramis pulled the fabric away as much as he could. It would need stitching. Much as he wanted to deal with the injury immediately he knew he would have to wait until the other bandits had been finished off. He reached up and gently pulled Porthos' bandana from his injured head and used it to wrap around the wound on his arm as a makeshift bandage to help stem the blood that was oozing.

He turned quickly when he heard d'Artagnan yell.

MMMM

The fat man had gone down easily, pulling the sword out from the man's gut was probably the hardest part of the fight.

He glanced around and saw Aramis rushing to Porthos who had clearly been injured. The big musketeer was lying, sprawled on the ground clearly unconscious. D'Artagnan knew as much as he would like to help his fallen brother, Athos was still fighting and in a dangerous position as he did so. Although Athos was a superior swordsman the two men had forced him ever closer to the edge of the ravine.

As d'Artagnan approached, Athos managed an upward swing of his sword slicing across one of the men's stomach. The mortally wounded man staggered back a few paces before folding to the ground. The other man, enraged at the ease with which his fellow bandit was taken out rushed at Athos who managed to pull his main gauche around in time to stab it into the man. But the forward momentum of the rushing man pushed them both backwards a few feet.

They teetered on the edge of the ravine. D'Artagnan was only seconds away from reaching them as the impaled man pushed away from Athos and fell backwards. Athos, however had nowhere to go. He swung his arms in a hopeless attempt to regain his balance. D'Artagnan watched in horror shouting his name as the swordsman fell backwards out of sight.

MMMM

Athos felt weightless for a few seconds, he flailed his arms but knew it would not work. He saw the man he had stabbed fall backwards as he did the same but in the opposite direction.

His foot scrapped across the edge of the ravine as he fell. For a couple of seconds there was nothing then a scratching and breaking and hopeless grabbing. Somewhere in his mind he knew he was falling though trees or bushes. They had looked into the ravine when they made camp deciding that they were at least protected from that side, the prickly bushes looked pretty formidable from the top of the ravine.

He was falling through them, he could feel them ripping at the skin on his cheek, on the back of his head and on an exposed piece of skin on his right wrist. His sword was pulled from his grasp as he continued to fall.

The fall felt slow, but he knew it was not. He knew when he landed it would hurt. Or he would not feel anything at all. He did not know which he preferred.

MMMM


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Aramis rushed across the encampment and grabbed d'Artagnan who was standing as close to the edge of the ravine as he could. Aramis pulled the younger man back a few inches.

'Let's not lose you as well,' he said as he peered over the edge, 'can you see where he landed?'

'No, those bushes are in the way, you can see where he must have fallen through them.'

Aramis looked down, the walls of the ravine were ragged with sharp rocks from which grew bushes and small trees. The bushes had vicious looking thorns. He looked over to the right.

'It looks clearer there,' he said as he walked along the edge of the ravine, 'if I hold onto your belt and this tree branch you should be able to lean out a little further.'

D'Artagnan nodded and positioned himself on the edge and waited for Aramis to hook one hand around his belt and the other arm around a curving tree branch. Aramis nodded that he was ready.

D'Artagnan leaned forward, Aramis watched the musketeer's feet tipping forward, he took the man's weight for a few seconds. D'Artagnan was able to lean out further than if he was not being held onto.

'Well?' asked Aramis as d'Artagnan shifted his weight backwards and took a step back.

'I could see him, he's very still,' said d'Artagnan turning back to Aramis, 'no obvious broken bones.'

They spent a few minutes slowly walking up and down the edge of the ravine, there was no easy way to get down to Athos. But Aramis knew that they would have to go to Athos. Athos was clearly unconscious, or worse.

'I think this is the only place we can use,' said d'Artagnan stopping at the place where Athos had fallen, the ravine had steep walls, but the spot where the prickly bushes grew had a slight slope to it.

'That is going to be uncomfortable,' said Aramis.

MMMM

D'Artagnan watched as Aramis looked down into the ravine then looked over towards Porthos who was still where the marksman had left him. He realised Aramis was torn between helping Athos and remaining with his injured friend.

He knew that Aramis was struggling to make his mind up. D'Artagnan stepped up to him and turned the marksman to face him saying, 'we know what's wrong with Porthos, but we don't know what's wrong with Athos. I can look after a concussion and a sword wound, but I might not be able to deal with whatever injuries Athos has…much as I don't want you to risk the climb down, I think it has to be you.'

Aramis nodded slowly, d'Artagnan got the impression his friend was relieved the decision had been made for him. Aramis walked across to his saddle bag and began gathering what he thought he might need and what d'Artagnan would need to help Porthos.

'The wound on his arm is quite deep, I've put a temporary bandage on it but it needs to be redone and cleaned. The stitches can probably wait, as long as he doesn't move about too much…'

D'Artagnan put his hand on Aramis' shoulder, 'I'll look after him…do you think he'll be concussed when he wakes up?'

'Possibly, try to keep him quiet…probably impossible, but try.'

Aramis gave d'Artagnan what he would need for Porthos, then packed up what he thought he would need. Aramis undid his weapon belt and lay it down by his saddlebag, he swung the medical bag over his shoulder in place of the weapons.

They walked back to the ravine. Aramis sat on the edge of the ravine, then eased himself off and turned around. D'Artagnan kept hold of Aramis' arm until he was steady on the spiky rocks.

'Be careful and take your time,' he said.

Aramis looked up at him and smiled, 'don't worry, I intend to.'

MMMM

Once d'Artagnan had let him go, Aramis slowly started to work his way down. The ravine was about 30 yards deep, but the prickly bushes obscured his view of the ground. Not that he was looking down much. His focus was on finding the next handhold or foothold as he descended. There were places with barely anything to grip onto, he was glad he had taken his leather gloves off, it would have been impossible to grip with precision whilst wearing them.

He moved his right foot slowly down and found a raised bit of rock that took his weight. He leaned back and moved his left hand down and slightly outwards where he had spotted another rock that he could cling to. His right hand followed, further down clutching onto another jutting rock. Finally, his left foot. Each time he moved his left foot he found that he was holding his breath. He did not know if the rock his right foot was resting on would take his full weight.

The rocks were sharp and he was already aware of a couple of tears to his breeches. He was glad he had taken his weapons off, they would have been getting caught on all the jutting edges of the rocks.

It was a slow process, he was aware that he did not know what state Athos was in, but it would do his friend no good if he were to fall in his haste to reach him.

MMMM

Porthos slowly opened his eyes, his head ached and his arm hurt. Slowly he raised his head and looked about the encampment. Bodies lay where they had fallen. He slowly sat up with a quiet groan. He looked down at his arm and realised his bandana was wrapped around it. Wondering why the wound had not been tended to properly he looked about for Aramis. Aramis was usually very insistent that their injuries were cared for quickly.

Where was Aramis? He looked across and saw d'Artagnan looking intently into the ravine. There was no sign of Aramis or Athos. Porthos remembered how Athos was very close to the edge of the ravine. He realised Athos must have fallen. Had Aramis somehow fallen as well?

Slowly Porthos got to his feet. His vision blurred briefly, he knew he was slightly concussed but it was nothing he could not deal with. He walked across to d'Artagnan who looked up as he approached.

Straightening up the younger musketeer looked at Porthos with concern.

'I'll live,' said Porthos, 'what 'appened?'

'Athos fell into the ravine, he's unconscious, we think, at the bottom. Aramis is climbing down to see.'

Porthos looked over the edge. Aramis was a few yards below them, carefully picking his way down the rocky side. Porthos could tell Aramis was concentrating hard on his decent and with good reason, the sharp rocks looked lose in places. His friend was just reaching the trees, whose prickly thorns were only going to add to the treacherousness of the climb down.

MMMM

He could feel the thorns tugging at his breeches and then scratching across his doublet. The thorns, added to the ragged rocks made his climb even harder to negotiate. A couple of times he had to pull a stuck thorn from the strap of his bag or unhook a stubborn branch from the bottom of his doublet. Each time he had been precariously balanced on his feet and one hand.

Another step down he was almost totally under the trees now, he would have liked to look up and seen how far he had come but he did not want to risk over balancing.

He moved his left hand placing it on a rock. As he went to move his right hand the rock moved and tumbled down the ravine wall. The action caused a couple of birds to be startled, they flew from the branch they had been perched on. Their most direct route away from the tree was passed Aramis who inadvertently moved away from them as they screeched and flapped passed him.

His balance lost, his right foot slipped off the side of the narrow protruding rock he was resting it on. His left foot quickly followed, the suddenness of the actions causing him to lose his grip completely.

Aramis started to slip down the side of the ravine.

MMMM


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The position he was lying in was uncomfortable. He moved his head slightly, which he quickly decided was a bad idea. His eyes were still shut. Perhaps he could try opening them first?

Slowly he cracked his eyelids open. The light was not too bright so he risked opening his eyes fully. He was lying on his back at the bottom of the ravine. His arm was stretched out to one side across a rock, his head was resting on another rock. With a little effort, he managed to move his arm down to his side, the relocation of the limb providing him with a little comfort. Athos had no idea where his sword had gone.

His attention was drawn to the wall of the ravine. The evil thorny bushes were moving, he realised someone was climbing down towards him. They were taking their time and he did not blame them. His fall had been away from the razor-sharp rocks, he had only fallen through the thorns.

Aramis was having to negotiate with the rocks and the thorns. As the marksman's boots came into view Athos was about to call out but stopped himself. Aramis was in a precarious position, if he were to be startled he might slip. And slipping, even a short distance, could prove disastrous for his friend.

When the loose rock skittered down followed by the shriek of the birds Athos knew Aramis was in trouble. Almost instantaneously his friend slid into sight. He was grabbing at the rocks but to no avail.

Athos instinctively tried to move but was prevented by the ache in his head becoming a roar of pain. He screwed his eyes shut as his breathing quickened. Worried about Aramis, Athos made a concerted effort to calm his breathing.

When he was able to open his eyes again, he was relieved to see that Aramis had managed to stop his fall. But the marksman was breathing very quickly and clinging on for all his worth, his knuckles white with the effort.

Athos wanted to call out to his friend, but he knew that any distraction could see Aramis fall again. Although his friend was now only a few yards from the bottom of the ravine another fall would not be a good idea.

Aramis was still breathing hard. Athos could hear the others shouting from the top of the ravine. But Aramis did not seem to be able to respond. Athos noticed that Aramis was visible shaking as he clung to the rocky wall. His hands were bleeding, and his breeches had many rips in them.

Athos wondered if Aramis was now in a worse state than he was.

MMMM

They both yelled his name as Aramis fell. D'Artagnan had even taken an unconscious step forward, being stopped by Porthos before he followed the marksman into the ravine. They had watched, their own expressions mirroring Aramis' shock as he fell. The falling man was desperately trying to get a firm hold on a rock but they all appeared to be lose or his momentum dragged him away before he could get a grip.

As Aramis disappeared from sight, hidden by the bushes they yelled his name again. Getting onto their knees and trying to see through the bushes did not help.

'I told him to climb down…' said d'Artagnan, his eyes wide, 'I said I could look after you…'

Porthos glanced at d'Artagnan, 'he was the obvious choice of the two of you, you know that.'

D'Artagnan continued to look guilty as they shouted out again. Despite the ache in his head, Porthos carried on shouting. They paused. There was no sound from below them. The scrabbling and the sound of the rocks falling had stopped. They strained to listen for any sign of their friend.

MMMM

All he could think about was holding on to the sturdy rocks. The rocks that had not teased him, the ones that had not either slipped passed his now bleeding hands and fingers, or loosened themselves as he tried to cling onto them.

He knew he should try to calm his breathing, he was breathing so hard and fast that he was in danger of passing out. His vision swam. He never wanted to try moving again.

Slipping down the side of the ravine had been the most terrifying thing that he could remember. He could not even think of a time in battle when he had been more scared. The feeling of utter helplessness, had been overbearing. He could have fought a living foe, but this natural enemy could not be defeated.

He could hear the others above him shouting. As he slowly got his thoughts in check he knew he would have to let them know he was still alive and conscious or d'Artagnan would try the suicidal climb down.

He spent a few seconds calming his breathing, enough to call up to them.

'I'm fine,' he shouted, but he knew his voice was shaky, 'I'll be OK.'

'Have you reached the bottom?' called Porthos.

This was a good question, thought Aramis. Very slowly he turned his head to look down. He could not help the sigh of relief when he realised how close he was to the bottom of the ravine. The slope became more pronounced below him. He would be able to reach the bottom easily from here.

'Yes,' he lied, he did not want to worry them.

Aramis had to make a real effort to move each limb now, he was shaking so much he was not sure he would be able to coordinate his arms and legs. He moved his right leg slowly down, the action bending his left leg. He realised his leg was badly cut, sliced by the rocks, bending his knee was aggravating the injury. But he could do nothing about it for now. Moving his right hand made him wince, he realised his palms and the undersides of his fingers were bloody, the skin torn and ripped from his desperate attempts to regain his hold. Perhaps he should have worn his gloves.

With difficulty and slower than he would have liked he climbed the rest of the way down. Once he reached the ground he found he had to stop for a few minutes to regain his composure.

When his breathing had evened out he pushed himself away from the ravine wall and turned to where Athos lay.

Athos was conscious and watching him.

MMMM


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: Thanks for all the reviews. I'm sorry if you were misled into thinking this was an Athos centric piece, it is more ensemble. Athos gets to be a bit worried and bit hurty in this chapter.

Chapter Four

Aramis stared at Athos for a few moments. Athos could see his friend was still shaking, he was pale and his breathing was still a little fast.

'Perhaps you had better sit down for a few minutes?' Athos suggested quietly.

'How long…how long have you been conscious for?' asked Aramis, the shock of his recent misadventure evident in his voice.

'Long enough to know you need to sit down,' said Athos as firmly as he could manage from his prone position.

Aramis walked forward and sat down next to him, his usual grace having deserted him. If Athos had not been so concerned he probably would have chuckled. Aramis appeared to have remembered why he was there and reached out to check on Athos. As he did so, Athos noticed the state of the marksman's hands.

'Aramis,' he said, Aramis paused and looked at him, 'your hands.'

As if noticing for the first time Aramis turned his hands palm upwards, he stared at his bloody hands for a few seconds.

'Aramis,' Athos said again, 'clean yourself up first. I'm not going anywhere. I do not think I am badly injured,' Athos paused and blinked a couple of times, 'I am concussed, and no doubt bruised, but I do not think I am otherwise injured.'

Athos could tell Aramis was still trying to process what had just happened to him. The marksman was probably enjoying a surge of energy, which was masking any pain he should have been feeling. But he had been left confused and unfocused.

'If you can help me to sit up I will dress the cuts on your hands…Aramis.'

Aramis looked at him again, taking a while to catch up with what Athos had just said. He leaned forward and helped Athos into a sitting position, or rather Athos used Aramis wrists to hold onto as he heaved himself up. Athos' vision faded out for a few seconds, then cleared. A wave of nausea washed over him, but that too dissipated after a few seconds. His back ached where he must have landed hard, he was oddly grateful for the prickly bushes breaking his fall slightly.

Aramis watched him with concern. Athos realised that he needed to help Aramis before the marksman could help him. With difficulty he pushed his own pain aside, he needed Aramis focused.

'Do you have any water in your bag?'

'Yes…sorry…I.'

'It's OK,' reassured Athos.

He watched as Aramis pulled the bag off his shoulder and lay it on his lap, he was about to undo the buckle but paused looking at his bleeding fingers again, his hands were still shaking.

'Give the bag to me,' said Athos, trying to hide the pain he was feeling from concentrating on staying upright.

Aramis looked up again, then handed the bag over to Athos.

'Hey,' said Athos as Aramis seemed to lose focus again, 'you will be OK in a minute, you just need to sit for a while.'

Athos had seen people react as Aramis was before. After being in a very dangerous situation it often took them a while to get their focus back. Aramis was clearly suffering from shock. His fall could have proved fatal, Athos imagined he would have reacted the same if their roles were reversed.

'Your head?' asked Aramis.

'Will be fine, as I said, I know I am concussed,' repeated Athos as he pulled open the bag and reached in pulling out the water skin.

He took a drink then looked toward Aramis who obediently held out his hands. Athos poured water over his injured friend who winced as the cool liquid spilled over him. He handed Aramis a strip of cloth and watched as he carefully wiped away the dirt.

'It's not too bad, I don't think,' said Aramis inspecting the cuts.

Athos was pleased his friend was slowly getting back to his usual self. Athos found a couple of bandages. He dressed each of Aramis' hands. They would need to be cleaned and dressed again with more care as soon as was practical but he knew they could not do so in their current situation.

Once Aramis' hands had been bandaged Athos allowed the marksman to feel his head. Although Aramis was still shaking a little he seemed to have regained his composure enough to perform his duty as their field medic.

'How do you feel?' asked Aramis after he had checked for any obvious signs of injury. Athos had a few scratches from the thorns but had been remarkably lucky.

'A little nauseous, and dizzy when I sat up, but that has passed now,' Athos lied.

Aramis nodded, 'good…now we have to work out how we are going to get out of here…I for one, do not fancy returning the way I came,' he finished with a grin.

MMMM

Porthos was sat at the edge of the ravine, his doublet lying beside him as d'Artagnan cleaned and dressed the wound to his arm. They had waited a few minutes after Aramis had called up and told them he was fine but had not heard anything further from the depths of the ravine.

They were worried but knew they had to trust Aramis. His fall could not have left him completely uninjured but he had responded to their calls, eventually. Aramis was known to underplay any injuries he received so neither of them believed him for a minute when he said that he was fine.

'I'm not going to stitch it until we know what is going on with them,' said d'Artagnan as he wrapped the fresh bandage around Porthos' arm, 'just promise me you won't move your arm about too much…Aramis was quite insistent before.'

Porthos nodded, 'I will do my best. How are we going to get them out of there?'

It was something they had both been wondering ever since Aramis had slipped, it was obvious that their friends could not simply climb out of the ravine. As if on cue Aramis called up from the bottom.

'Athos is conscious. He's got a concussion and a few scrapes and bruises. We can't climb up. We're going to try and make our way along the bottom of the ravine…'

'What about you, are you OK?'

'I'm fine…some superficial cuts but I'm fine.'

'Liar,' muttered Porthos glancing at d'Artagnan who was straightening up and readying to follow their friends along the top of the ravine.

As Porthos gingerly put his doublet back on he stood up, which was a mistake. His vision blurred and he felt himself swaying. D'Artagnan grabbed him and pulled him a few steps from the edge.

'You should stay here,' said d'Artagnan.

'No,' said Porthos firmly, 'I'll be fine, it's nothing.'

'Now who's lying?'

Porthos could not help a grin at the remark, 'really, I'm OK. I'll stop if it gets too bad.'

MMMM

Aramis walked back to where Athos was still sat on the ground. The man looked pale.

'Are you sure you are feeling as well as you say you are?' asked the marksman.

'Yes,' said Athos before sighing and continuing, 'I still feel dizzy, I'm not sure I will be able to stand without passing out.'

'Next time you accuse me of hiding the extent of my injuries I shall remind you of this,' said Aramis as he crouched beside his friend. He scooped up the medical supplies and bundled them back into the bag, his usual neatness having to be forgone due to his bandaged hands depriving him of his dexterity.

Aramis reached around Athos' waist and slowly eased the swordsman up. Athos helped as much as he could but was clearly close to passing out. Aramis considered lowering the injured man back down but realised they needed to move if they were to escape their predicament. He hated having to put his friend through the discomfort whilst he was clearly concussed.

'We'll take it slowly. We'll stop if you need to, do not let yourself get to a point where you are going to pass out…'

Athos nodded slowly.

'…because I won't be able to haul you up.'

Athos managed a smile.

MMMM


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Nothing really happens in this chapter, so I have put the last two chapters up together, you can exercise self-restraint if you wish, or read them both.

Chapter Five

They slowly made their way along the ravine, d'Artagnan had taken the side closest to the edge, not trusting Porthos. The big musketeer had not shown any further signs of passing out but d'Artagnan did not want him close to the edge if he did.

The ravine wall continued to be steep and unclimbable, but the drop was getting shorter. They paused when they reached an area free of any clinging foliage and waited for their friends to catch them up.

They heard the two below before they came into view. Aramis had Athos' arm slung across his shoulder, the swordsman looked pale. But Aramis looked pretty pale as well. They both looked dishevelled.

'This ain't gonna be easy,' said Porthos quietly beside him, 'look at his hands.'

D'Artagnan noted the bandages around each of Aramis hands, and the tear in his breaches that probably hid another 'superficial' injury. Athos had paused and bent forward, with his hands on his knees. Aramis guided him to sit on a rock. He must have sensed them watching as once Athos was settled Aramis looked up and smiled at them.

'Any luck finding somewhere we can climb back up yet?' he asked.

'No. What happened to your hands?' asked d'Artagnan.

Aramis tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrows, 'I slipped down the side of the ravine, I thought you noticed?'

Porthos laughed, then said, 'so how bad is it, really?'

'Honestly, it's just superficial, although I won't be doing any stitches for a while,' replied Aramis looking at d'Artagnan who realised he would have to stitch Porthos' wound himself.

'And he has a nasty cut to his leg, which he is trying to hide,' said Athos who seemed to have recovered a bit from what ever had forced him to stop.

Aramis glared at Athos, 'we can play who has the worst injury later, first we need to get out of here.'

'What about you, Athos, you don't look well?' said d'Artagnan eyeing the swordsman with concern.

Aramis smirked, 'he is pretending that his concussion is not as bad as it really is…so far we have had to stop about once every hundred yards so that he can have a little sit down.'

Athos scowled at him. With little ceremony Aramis pulled Athos back up to stand, the swordsman waved away the offer of further help and proceeded to slowly continue along the ravine path. Although d'Artagnan noted that Aramis did his best to remain close to the swordsman.

MMMM

D'Artagnan had noticed that Porthos was breathing a little heavier and had slowed down a bit, he knew he would have to insist the big musketeer rest soon. He wanted to check the wound anyway. He glanced down into the ravine, Athos was walking on his own with little difficulty, he still looked pale and was obviously tired. Aramis was limping slightly as he followed the swordsman but seemed fine otherwise. The three of them would need to rest, but d'Artagnan really wanted to have them all reunited soon so that they could get back to the camp before dark.

'We need to stop so I can check Porthos' dressing,' he called down to the men below.

'It's fine,' said Porthos.

'Do as d'Artagnan says,' said Aramis firmly from below.

Porthos looked quite annoyed as d'Artagnan forced him to sit down and started undoing his doublet. D'Artagnan smirked at him, 'they need to rest as well,' he said quietly in an attempt to placate his friend.

The sword wound had bled a little but not enough to warrant changing the bandage. As d'Artagnan helped Porthos to get the injured arm back into his doublet they stood and glanced along the edge of the ravine.

'I wonder if they could get up there,' suggested d'Artagnan pointing at an area where the rocks had eroded in such a way as to resemble steps.

'They probably won't like the idea, but I think you should go down and help them up. If Aramis had not been injured he would be able to help Athos up, but 'e does not look well enough.'

D'Artagnan nodded, he had already decided he would have to help the two stranded musketeers get out of the ravine. The ravine was only about ten yards deep now so reaching his friends would not be as difficult.

Porthos allowed d'Artagnan to help him up. They looked down again at Athos and Aramis. Aramis had wandered along the ravine and was looking at the same spot that d'Artagnan had spotted.

'Do you think that would do?' asked d'Artagnan as he reached the spot.

Aramis looked up at d'Artagnan and said, 'it will be hard work, Athos will have to take his time, but I think so.'

Athos had walked up to join Aramis, 'and how do you propose to help me up there? You cannot grip onto anything, you will need as much help as I will,' he paused and looked up at d'Artagnan, 'he will not admit it, but Aramis will need help as well.'

Porthos laughed as he reached d'Artagnan's side, 'he would never admit to needing help.'

Aramis glared at them all then smiled holding out his bandaged hands, 'I will admit it…I need help.'

MMMM


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note: thanks for all the reviews, I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter Six

This time Aramis was happy to admit he needed some help, although he had been truthful about the injuries being superficial, his hands were throbbing with pain. He had persevered to start with, helping Athos who was quite unsteady but holding the swordsman up had caused him quite a lot of pain. When Athos had started walking on his own Aramis had been glad. The further they walked over the rocky uneven ground the more the wound to his leg had complained. He had checked it before they started off and found it to be a nasty scratch, which had bled a bit, he did not think it would need stitching. But the position of the injury, over his knee, had made it difficult to ignore as he walked.

As they had been walking along the ravine he had felt compelled to apologies to Athos for his reaction when he had fallen. He had not been able to focus on his injured friend, his mind kept replaying the fall and distracting him. Athos had assured him it was fine. They had all been in the same position at some point, but it had still left Aramis feeling a bit pathetic.

D'Artagnan reached the ravine floor, and crossed to where Aramis and Athos had sat on a ledge on the opposite side.

'Who's first?' he asked.

Athos stood up, 'he will insist that I go first and I am not in the mood to argue,' he said glancing around at Aramis.

Aramis nodded his approval, 'if I am honest, it will probably take me longer to climb up anyway, so it makes more sense for you to go up first, you and Porthos can start walking back to the camp.'

D'Artagnan and Athos made their way to the bottom of the rocky ravine wall. With d'Artagnan following behind him Athos managed to climb up quite easily until they had nearly reached the top.

He wavered as he clambered up a large flat rock, but d'Artagnan was there, a hand on his back, steadying him. It was obvious Athos was suffering from more dizziness. Aramis wished he could help his friends as he watched helplessly from the bottom of the ravine. Athos swayed again, d'Artagnan kept one hand on his back, Athos had his eyes screwed shut, obviously fighting to remain conscious. After a tense few seconds Athos managed to compose himself enough to continue forwards.

At the top, Porthos had helped Athos to gain his footing, careful to use his good arm to do so.

Aramis watched as they spoke for a few seconds, but he could not hear what was said. Porthos and Athos glanced back down at Aramis then started to walk back towards the camp, Porthos had his good arm wrapped around Athos waist. D'Artagnan started back down towards Aramis who wandered over to the bottom of the ravine.

'Porthos said he intends to strain his arm by pushing Athos around a bit to agitate his concussion,' he said with a grin.

Aramis shook his head smiling, 'just wait until he's getting his stitches later, he won't be quite so jovial then.'

D'Artagnan dropped down beside him, 'they also thought you probably wouldn't want an audience.'

Aramis knew he was going to have trouble climbing up and would need a lot of help to do so safely. He was grateful for his friends' foresight. Aramis looked at the rocks with trepidation. They were not sharp and lose like the ones he had fallen down, they were larger sturdier rocks, but he was not looking forward to climbing up them.

He stepped forward, as he put his right foot on top of the first rock and leaned forward to step up he found d'Artagnan beside him, his hand at the small of his back steadying him. With a slight wobble he reached the first rock.

'This one's bigger, if I climb up first I can pull you up, the less you have to use your hands the better,' said d'Artagnan as he jumped up to the next rocky step.

D'Artagnan grabbed Aramis' wrists to avoid the injured hands and took the marksman's weight as he pulled himself up. They swapped places so that d'Artagnan was behind again. The next few rocks were close together, Aramis was able to climb up them quite easily, using his forearm a couple of times when he wavered slightly.

Nearing the top, they paused, 'this is probably going to be the most difficult bit, I don't see how you can do it without using your hands.'

Aramis examined the large flat rock in front of him. There was dimple in the rock about a third of the way up that he could use as a foothold but he would have to haul himself up the rest of the way and he would have to use his hands to do so.

'You go first,' he said.

D'Artagnan pulled himself up on to the top of the big rock and turned around, he got down on his knees and leaned forward.

'Getting you up here is more important than how neatly we manage it,' said d'Artagnan with a smile.

MMMM

Aramis reached up as far as he could, d'Artagnan grabbed his wrists. He watched as the injured man put his right foot into the dimple in the rock. Aramis pushed up with his left leg. D'Artagnan pulled his friend up, he had to make an effort not to react when Aramis hissed in pain as he was forced to use his hands, palms down on the top of the rock. D'Artagnan changed his grip from Aramis' wrists to the back of his doublet, fisting the leather to get a better hold.

It was certainly undignified, but it was the only way d'Artagnan could get Aramis up onto the rock. As Aramis brought his left leg up, the cut to his knee was stretched causing him to pause in pain. D'Artagnan knew they could not stop in the position they were and continued to force his friend up, despite the obvious pain it was causing. He reached forward and grabbed Aramis' left leg behind the knee and pulled him onto the top of the rock.

Now that he had manhandled his friend to safety he allowed the marksman time to catch his breath. Aramis was breathing hard, his eyes shut. The bandages on his hands were stained red where the cuts had been agitated by the climb.

After a few minutes Aramis managed to push himself up to sit, his legs dangling over the awkward rock.

'Thank you,' said Aramis shakily, 'I'm glad we were alone, I don't think I would ever live that down.'

'It wasn't our best manoeuvre,' agreed d'Artagnan, 'but it had the desired effect.'

MMMM

They were sat around the fire, Athos observed his friends as he settled back against his saddle. Porthos was dozing on the other side of the fire. He had complained bitterly when d'Artagnan had stitched his arm. Despite his own concussion, Athos had been forced to hold the big musketeer's arms at his side to prevent him pushing d'Artagnan away. Porthos had not quite passed out but was pretty close by the end of the stitching.

Aramis had sat quietly as d'Artagnan had cleaned and dressed his injuries. The worst part for him had been having his hands cleaned, he had become quite pale and Athos was convinced he was going to keel over at one point. The injury to his knee had not needed stitching but would leave him with a limp for a few days and riding a horse was going to be quite uncomfortable for him.

D'Artagnan had finally sat down beside Athos and after eating some bread and taking a few gulps of wine had settled back and fallen asleep quickly.

'Considering we are all injured, he seems to be the most exhausted,' said Aramis from across the fire. He was sat next to Porthos, his hands resting in his lap, he still looked pale.

Athos smiled for a moment then said, 'I'm sorry you were injured because of me.'

'You didn't fall down there on purpose,' replied Aramis, 'and we weren't going to leave you down there.'

'Well thank you then.'

'Our pleasure,' replied the marksman.

'I'll keep watch for a couple of hours, I cannot see me sleeping well tonight anyway,' said Athos as he noticed Aramis trying to hide a yawn.

'OK, but wake me or d'Artagnan when you do need to sleep, we don't want to have to carry you back to Paris if you fall off your horse tomorrow,' replied Aramis with a grin as he settled back.

With all his comrades asleep Athos silently thanked them again, wondering what his life would be like without them.

The End.


End file.
